Quizzes & Puzzles 2

Before we look at new quizzes, I will give you the answers to those in Quizzes & Puzzles 1.

Quiz 1:1 consisted of two questions; I asked for two capitals:

a) If you reverse the syllables in the name of this (present day) capital, you get the name of the previous capital in the same country. Which capital am I referring to?

b) I assume that everyone is familiar with the distinction between vowels and consonants. The name of the second capital whose name I seek, consists of 11 letters, and as many as 8 of them are vowels. Which is the capital?

The answer to the first one is the Japanese capital Tokyo. The previous Japanese capital was Kyoto (TO-KYO; KYO-TO).

The second capital is Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso.

@Ling was first to answer this in a comment. @Princeyahwe also posted a correct answer.

For Quiz 1:2, there were some guesses, but no right answer. The most expensive spice after saffron, is genuine vanilla. I once wrote about this in an article titled The Three Most Expensive Spices.

As for Quiz 1:3, liquorice is 50 times sweeter than ordinary sugar. But again, always be careful with liquorice, it raises the blood pressure, sometimes dramatically.

Quiz 1:4 was different and more difficult.

The author of the text was Charles Dickens, and the novel I quoted from, was “Great Expectations”, from 1860-61.

In June 1861 The Times reviewed this novel. They wrote:

"Great Expectations is not, indeed, his best work, but it is to be ranked among his happiest. There is that flowing humour in it which disarms criticism, and which is all the more enjoyable because it belies criticism. Fault there are in abundance, but who is going to find fault when the very essence of the fun is to commit faults?"

Dickens's position in literary England was not at this time what it had been - and that is reflected in the review. Great Expectations is from the later period of his life; it is not one of his best known novels, but - I have to disagree with The Times - it definitely is one of his best.

Dickens has a special ability to use the specific, the individual, to illustrate the general; what made Chesterton call him "a mythologist rather than a novelist". His characters are extremely individual, often on the brink of being caricatures, we feel that we “know” them, yet they never lose in generality.

In the same way, time and location are very specific, Victorian England, while everything also remains universal; it could be anywhere, anytime. This is what makes Dickens a truly great author, in the most profound sense a classic.

(The photo of Dickens is taken from “Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens” by G. K. Chesterton, Published 1911. Public Domain.)

Quiz 2:1

Two Ancient cities were buried by ash from a volcanic eruption in the year 79 AD. They are famous, because they were largely preserved in ash and powdered volcanic rock. Which are the cities and what is the volcano called?

Quiz 2:2

The science or systematic study of animals is called zoology; of diseases, it is called pathology; and of stamps, it is philately. But what is the systematic study of flags called?

Quiz 2:3

"[...] but if you have a wart on your forehead or nose, you imagine that all the world is looking at it, and that people would make fun of you because of it, even if you had discovered America!"

This is quoted from a novel by one of the greatest Russian authors ever, no doubt he is one of the greatest novelists in world literature. Who is the author and what is the name of the novel?

This is difficult, so let me give a clue. The novel, which is one of his most famous, and whose title indicates limited intelligence, was originally published in 1869, but it remains a true classic.

Let's also take a puzzle this time. I tend to call it a Quiz, if it is about knowledge, and a puzzle, if it is more a matter of logical thinking. This most definitely is a puzzle.

Puzzle 2:4

113+24=140

Have I been counting wrong here? No, this is correct, but how can it be?

Quizzes & Puzzles has now its own label in my Index, where all issues of the series can be found.

Read also the series, ”Suggested Reading”, which is a compilation of articles by other authors on this platform; and “Retrospection”, which presents some of my own old articles (with some further comments) in a topic related way, quite different from the chronological order in my profile.

In my INDEX, you can find all my writings on Read.Cash, sorted by topic.

Copyright © 2022 Meleonymica/Mictorrani. All Rights Reserved.

(Cartoon by Christian Dorn/Pixabay, CC0/Public Domain.)

My 5 most recent articles:

Suggested Reading 20

A comparison of Birds and Their Ancestral Dinosaurs

Archaeopteryx, Birds & Dinosaurs

Quizzes & Puzzles 1

Suggested Reading 19